Visa ‘Checkout Friction Report’ shows strong demand for biometrics and one-click checkout

The simpler it is to pay, the more likely it is customers will buy. While that might not sound too controversial, the essence of this is still being turned into reality, and the reality of secure, easy and reliable online payment – because ecommerce is now the real marketplace – is being built.

A new Visa study provides evidence. The digital payments company has released its “Checkout Friction Report” that shows strong consumer demand for a more secure and seamless ecommerce experience.

Top points of Visa’s report: 70 percent of consumers would shop online more frequently and be more likely to complete their purchases with a one-click checkout option. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed (66 percent) show a high likelihood of using “Click to Pay with Biometrics” if offered by online retailers.

“Challenges in the online checkout process have direct implications for businesses, resulting in lost revenue, and hampering both customer acquisition and retention,” says Nasser Bdeir, Visa’s country manager for Oman. “For businesses, the demand for simpler and safer checkout options is clear.”

There are places in the world – China comes to mind – where ecommerce seems to have been near perfected. In China, shoppers use WeChat Pay/Wallet or AliPay and shop via ecommerce apps, some of which have gamified the experience and value of shopping. But this level of online shopping that threads convenience throughout the experience, with payments a key part, is not universal.

The GCC was the site of Visa’s study, with the Checkout Friction Report based on a survey of 2,016 online shoppers across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. These are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The research examines common pain points during the checkout process that affect both consumer satisfaction and business outcomes.

Nearly half (48 percent) of the survey’s respondents say that the biggest frustrations with ecommerce checkouts are security concerns, followed by the hassle of entering card details manually (42 percent).

“Today’s consumers expect – and deserve – a more seamless and secure checkout experience,” comments Ali Bailoun, Visa’s regional general manager for KSA, Oman and Bahrain.

“That’s why Visa is working with partners to enable solutions like Click to Pay, which leverages biometrics and tokenization to eliminate key pain points and deliver a more convenient shopping experience.”

According to Visa’s research, 72 percent of consumers surveyed are worried about the risk of fraud. And 59 percent are concerned about hacking when storing their card details on multiple websites. This concern may be justified because one in three (32 percent) respondents said they have experienced fraud or security breaches.

Visa’s Click to Pay relies on biometric authentication available on the consumer’s device (it does not transfer any biometric data to the vendor) and does away with manual input of card details. It’s part of a global trend for faster, more convenient, and biometric-enabled payment. Visa recently launched Click to Pay in Hong Kong with 11 more markets to follow as it also rolls out Visa Payment Passkey globally.

The Checkout Friction Report found that 64 percent of respondents support a single registration for online payments across all participating merchants, while 60 percent of those surveyed say they trust biometric authentication (fingerprint or face biometrics) more than traditional payment methods (passwords or OTP).

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  digital payments  |  ecommerce  |  tokenization  |  Visa